Convincing
by Strawberry Angel
Summary: It's a future one. Hey everyone else was writing one so i had to too! lol uh this is the first two chapters. the second chapter was purposefully named after the story. lol uh it's about Caitie going away to school after high school
1. Denial

Well this story is hopefully gonna be a good one. It's the future.   
Things you should know before reading this story:  
1. Caitie and Jamie have already both graduated (spelling.)  
2. I'm a terrible speller. This has nothing to do with the story but i need to let you know that.  
3. Jamie and Caitie had some kind of relationship.  
4. This story will have more than one part. more chapters or something to that effect.  
5. I'm insane. Doesn't help the story at all...but very true. And i don't own In A Heartbeat. Don't  
sue.  
  
  
  
  
Denial  
Chapter one of Convincing  
  
  
Jamie sat in his apartment. Shock made the room spin. Jamie's mind wandered. He didn't know what  
to think. What to do. How should he handle this? He grabbed the phone, gripping it tightly. Jamie  
punched in Val's number.  
"Helloooo?" A familiar voice answered.   
"Val? It's Jamie." Jamie leaned back on his mother's old couch. He remembered how happy he was  
when she gave it to him. That emotion would have been a nice one at the moment.  
"Jamie. Hi!" Val smiled. She wondered why Jamie was calling her. He'd never really done that before.  
"Val, is it true? About Caitie?" Jamie held his breath. Maybe this was all a bad dream. A sick joke.  
Anything would have been better.   
"No. It's true." Val's voice had changed. It sounded sadder (is that a word..it sounds a little   
if-y). and upset. Maybe even a little strained. Jamie exhaled. His shoulders fell. It wasn't a   
dream. Now it was a nightmare.  
  
  
  
Val knocked lightly on the dark wood door. The hallway was poorly lit. Val wondered if it was for  
mood or just because the land lady was poor. Jamie stood up and glanced at himself in the mirror.  
He smoothed his shirt and ran a hand through his black spikes. He stepped shakily toward the door.  
As soon as it was open, Val wrapped her arms around him. She had on platforms and was about 2 inches  
shorter than Jamie.   
"Jamie. I'm sorry." Val said softly.  
"It's okay." Jamie whispered into her hair. He pulled away and tried to smile.  
"Have you talked to her?" Val asked. She sat down on the old couch and crossed her legs. Jamie  
sat down in a hand me down arm chair across from her.  
"No. Have you?"   
"Yeah she called me last night and told me. I can't believe she's moving. I..I just can't believe  
it." Jamie nodded sadly and sighed. His first and only true love was moving away. Not just away  
but really away. Caitie was going to France to go to an art school. For 5 years.   
The whole gang had graduated and moved on. Everyone had gotten other jobs and gone to different  
colleges. They were growing up..and apart. Jamie had played the denial game until this had happened.  
Now he knew it wasn't a game anymore. Hank had really gone to medical school in Iowa. Tyler was  
really living in the dorms at the nearby university. Val was really studying to become a nerosurgeon.  
Caitie was really leaving for an art school practically on the other side of the world. And Jamie  
really had no idea what he was doing with his life.  
"It's too weird. I don't know what to think. I mean, it seems like it was just yesterday that we  
were all at the same school. But it was really 3 years ago." Jamie said. Val could sense that he  
was thinking about he and Caitie right after high school. The relationship that had taken everyone  
by a little surprise. It'd been incredibly serious. Everyone thought they'd be married before  
their jobs stopped being entry level. But the painful break up that never really healed surprised  
everyone every more. Jamie was hurt and so was Caitie. He didn't know why they broke up. He still  
loved Caitie. He knew he always would.  
  
  
Caitie sighed as she set down another Jamie memento (sp). She sat down on her bed. Caitie felt  
the tears collecting on her dark eyelashes, threatening to fall. She gulped down a sob and stuffed  
the teddybear holding a heart reading I Love You into a small box filled with things of the like.  
This was too hard. Too painful. Everything screamed Jamie. Everything hurt. Caitie bit her bottom  
lip and sniff. She quickly grabbed the pamphlet for Shato's School of the Arts in France. It was  
so far away. Caitie looked at the pictures for the umpteenth time. Why was she doing this? But deep  
down, she knew. It was too put the past A.K.A Jamie behind her. So if behind her meant hundreds  
of miles, so be it. It was what she thought she needed to do.  
Caitie's mind wandered. Jamie seemed to be in every thought, every memory. He was like some huge  
block her brain couldn't move around. Caitie shook the thoughts of her lost love out of her head  
and picked up another shirt. "Packing." She said aloud to herself. "Just keep packing." 


	2. Convincing

Okay chapter two. this chapter will most likely be short. pretty short i guess. okay i'm eager  
to get started so bye for now. oh don't own anything from in a heartbeat.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Convincing  
chapter 2  
  
  
  
  
Jamie walked Val to her car. It was late. 1:30 a.m late. Val and Jamie had stayed up the whole  
night talking and trying to help each other. Maybe this was something both had to deal with alone.  
Jamie stepped up the old creaky stairs into the hall way. It was pitch black and smelled like   
damp earth. He quickly unlocked the door and turned on some lights. He sat down and suddenly  
everything hit him like a wave. The reality of everything finally seeping in. Tears poured from  
his dark eyes and anger bubbled up. He grabbed anything and everything in sight and hurled it  
around the apartment. Neighbors woke up and lights went on all around the apartment building. Jamie  
heard people talking outside the door and stopped. He collapsed on the floor and fell asleep  
among the rubble.  
  
Caitie didn't sleep that night either. Laying in her dark apartment next to boxes and trash bags,  
she couldn't help but wonder what Jamie was doing at the exact moment. She shut her eyes tight and  
opened them again. Thinking about Jamie would only make things worse. Caitie sat up. She had to leave  
the place for a while. She trapped. She grabbed her keys and hopped in her 1988 Ram Charger. It  
grumbled to life and she drove. Rain fell lightly from the black sky and the moon slipped behind  
the clouds. Caitie felt alone. She stopped outside a familar apartment building and shut off the  
noisy engine. She stared at where she had arrived. Tears sprung to her eyes as she looked up to a  
window that Caitie had seen many times.  
"No." She whispered to herself. The engine started up again and Caitie tears fell like that now  
heavy drops outside as she made a U-turn out of the parking lot of Jamie's apartment building.  
  
  
Jamie woke up the next morning, vaguely remembering the night before. It was like when you fall   
asleep and then when you wake up, all the problems of yesterday suddenly come back to life. Jamie  
felt a little overwhelmed. He poured himself some cereal and looked at the calendar. Caitie would  
be leaving the next day. He had to do something. This wasn't right. It wasn't too late..yet.  
  
The door bell rang. Caitie looked up from the box she was packing. Who would be at her house so  
early? It was only 9:30. Caitie shrugged and brushed off her hands on her jeans. She flung open  
the door, thinking it would be Val. She wasn't expecting to see him. There he was. Caitie's heart  
banged in her chest. It was like seeing him for the first time. The two, after they had broken up,  
hadn't really kept in touch. They weren't strangers, but things weren't the way they had been either.  
"Jamie." Caitie gasped. He smiled and ran a hand through his hair. Caitie could tell he was nervous.  
Her hands are shaking, Jamie observed. She's nervous too.  
"Hi. I heard you were leaving." Jamie said simply. Caitie nodded and opened the door wider, inviting  
him inside. Jamie sat down on a pile of boxes. Caitie continued packing.  
"Um..well I'll be leaving tomorrow. I'm glad you came to say good-bye. I didn't really have the  
guts to." Caitie voice was quavering. Her heart was going a mile a minute. She felt like she was  
back in middle school, feeling the same way when Jamie was around. She reminded herself everything  
was over between them. But she'd never been good at lieing to herself.  
"I didn't come to say good-bye." Jamie stated simply. Caitie's surprised expression let Jamie know  
she wasn't expecting that.  
"Um...Uh...then w-what are you doing here?" Caitie glanced up and looked back down quickly. All  
doubt had been removed. It was offical now that Jamie was crazy. But what was he talking about? Why  
else would he come?  
"I don't want you to leave, Caitie." Caitie's head shot up. She was scared. Why was he saying this  
now?  
"Jamie, whatever we had..it's g-...it isn't what it used to be." Caitie could never bring herself  
to say it was gone.  
"I can convince you to stay." Jamie stood up and took a step toward Caitie. Caitie locked eyes  
with him. He could see she was scared.  
"I don't need convincing. I can't stay." Before Caitie could even looked away, she was in Jamie's  
arms. He kissed her and Caitie's heart melted. It was just like things had been before. 


End file.
